News linked to both this project and an event.
According to CoinDesk, crypto infrastructure firm Zerohash is seeking new funding at a valuation exceeding $1.5 billion. This comes after Mastercard abandoned its investment plans for Zerohash following its $1.8 billion acquisition of UK-based stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK. Founded in 2017, Zerohash provides APIs and embedded development tools to financial institutions and fintech companies, enabling support for cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and tokenized products. The company now serves over 5 million users across 190 countries, with clients including Morgan Stanley, Stripe, Interactive Brokers, BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund, and Franklin Templeton. In September 2025, Zerohash closed its $104 million Series D-2 round, valuing the company at $1 billion at that time.
Odaily. Bernstein stated in its latest research report that the newly reached compromise on stablecoin yields under the U.S. CLARITY Act is structurally beneficial for Circle and the USDC ecosystem.The report notes that the current version of the bill prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest to passive holders that is "economically equivalent" to bank deposits, but allows reward mechanisms tied to actual transaction, payment, and usage activities to continue. Bernstein believes this means Circle's current model, which relies on partners like Coinbase to provide USDC reward programs, will gain regulatory recognition, while also limiting the industry's ability to compete for market share through high yields.Bernstein points out that the bill effectively reinforces the positioning of stablecoins as "payment tools" rather than "deposit substitutes," helping to protect Circle's current business model that relies on reserve income. The firm maintains an "Outperform" rating for Circle with a $190 target price.Data shows that the total global supply of dollar-pegged stablecoins has surpassed $300 billion, with USDT and USDC collectively accounting for approximately 97% of the market share. Bernstein notes that USDC's share in on-chain payments and wallet transfers is steadily increasing, and its share of payments in the AI Agent payment protocol x402 has exceeded 99%.Additionally, Bernstein mentioned that Circle's ARC chain has cumulatively completed 244 million testnet transactions. The ARC token pre-sale previously raised $222 million, with investors including a16z crypto, Apollo Funds, ARK Invest, and BlackRock.However, the report also points out that the CLARITY Act still needs to complete multiple legislative procedures before it takes effect, including a 60-vote threshold in the full Senate and coordination with the House version. Polymarket currently estimates its probability of passage by 2026 at approximately 62%. (The Block)
Sharplink CEO Joseph Chalom stated that Ethereum treasury companies are gradually deviating from the model of Strategy and Michael Saylor, focusing more on staking yields and a clean balance sheet rather than relying on complex financing structures.Chalom believes that Ethereum treasury companies can generate returns directly by holding ETH, thus eliminating the need for excessive leverage. He also indicated that only a few Ethereum treasury companies will be able to survive through market downturns.Furthermore, citing BlackRock CEO Larry Fink's previous views, he described Ethereum as a "tokenized toll road" and pointed out that the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq's push for 24-hour trading plans, DTCC's exploration of tokenized collateral, and Bullish's acquisition of Equiniti will all further drive tokenized assets into the traditional financial system.Chalom expects that as stablecoins, tokenized assets, DeFi, and AI applications continue to expand, Ethereum will gradually forge a different development path from Bitcoin in the future. (The Block)
According to The Block, Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, noted that three enterprise-grade blockchains—Arc (by Circle), Canton Network, and Tempo (by Stripe)—have collectively raised over $1 billion in funding recently. All three funding rounds occurred after the signing of the GENIUS Act in July 2025. Hougan believes this legislation broke a prior regulatory stalemate that had discouraged institutional capital from entering the space. Hougan identified three key signals: First, all three blockchains prioritize native privacy-preserving transactions as a core design feature, addressing institutions’ need for transaction confidentiality. Second, the implementation of the GENIUS Act has significantly reduced regulatory uncertainty; the next critical variable is the pending Clarity Act, from which stablecoins and tokenization infrastructure stand to benefit. Third, these blockchains are backed by top-tier institutions—including Goldman Sachs, Citadel, BlackRock, Stripe, and Visa—marking a stark contrast to Ethereum and Solana, which emerged from grassroots origins. Hougan stated that his firm’s capital remains primarily allocated to native crypto projects, and he believes these emerging enterprise chains will raise the overall competitive bar and attract additional capital inflows.
Odaily News New Fire Technology (1611.HK) announced on April 22 that it will acquire the investment team and trading system of Li Lin's family office, Avenir Group, for $1.6 million. Following the acquisition, New Fire Technology plans to launch a Bitcoin-denominated asset management service named Alpha BTC, aiming to attract investments exceeding 10,000 Bitcoins within a year, valued at approximately $760 million. The strategy will generate returns through derivative trading such as options, using Bitcoin or the IBIT ETF as underlying assets. Target clients include crypto-native investors and local Hong Kong enterprises. As of the end of 2025, Avenir Group held 18.3 million shares of BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust, valued at $908 million.
Odaily Jeff Bezos is close to completing a $10 billion financing round, valuing his laboratory at $38 billion. The lab focuses on developing artificial intelligence technology capable of understanding the physical world and transforming engineering and manufacturing.According to informed sources, the company, codenamed "Project Prometheus," plans to finalize a funding round soon, with a valuation reaching $38 billion including the newly injected capital. The sources added that this agreement will position the company as one of the world's most well-funded early-stage startups, which includes an initial $6.2 billion raised in November. However, due to strong market demand, the financing scale has been further expanded. One source revealed that JPMorgan and BlackRock are among the participants in this new round of investment. (Financial Times)